title: Dose standardisation of anticancer drugs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Body size based dosing is often used for prescribing anticancer drugs. However the scientific and the clinical rationales of this historical method have recently been criticized. As a result, alternative dosing strategies have been suggested, as flat-fixed dosing regimens, but not implemented in routine practice. Dose standardisation is a first step in order to rationalise chemotherapy dose calculation. A new method, derived from dose-banding, was developed, taking into account prescription and economic criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Feasibility and interest of this concept were studied in two French cancer centres Institut Curie and Hôpital Saint-Louis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The aim of our study was to assess dose standardisation of expensive anticancer drugs in objectives of quality and economy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine candidate drugs were selected and standardized rounded doses (SRD) were proposed. To determine the specific standard doses of these two centres, two theoretical and practical methods were applied, and then, their results were compared. For each anticancer drug the objective was to fix SRD in order to cover all the doses most frequently prescribed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It has been possible to propose SRD for six of the nine drugs. These SRD have been implemented with the agreement of the medical staff. These doses are, whenever possible, rounded to the nearest vial size, or correspond to a combination of the different strength of the commercial drug.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study shows that dose standardisation is a help to optimise the productivity and improve the organisation of the preparation unit.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Department, Hôpital Saint-Louis, AP-HP, Paris, France. anne-lise.pouliquen@sls.aphp.fr
authors.forename: Anne-Lise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Pouliquen
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Escalup
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jourdan
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cottu
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Faure
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Madelaine-Chambrin
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000191:economics / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D001830:Body Surface Area; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D017046:Cost Savings; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D016527:Drug Costs; D054796:Drug Dosage Calculations; D004349:Drug Packaging; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005602:France; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006801:Humans; D008506:Medical Waste / Q000191:economics; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D008506:Medical Waste